Changling
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Only child of James and Lily Potter. So who was this young girl found with him on that fateful night? Moved to the proper cross-over category. What do you mean, how is it a City of Heroes crossover?


Changeling

Hagrid landed Sirius's motorcycle next to Dumbledore and McGonnagal on the darkened street. "Ah, Professor... 'deres been a bit of a, er, complication."

Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and quite a few other titles raised an eyebrow at that. "Hagrid, you haven't lost Harry Potter, have you?"

"No, no! Nothin' like that. It's just, I found another child with 'em at Godric's Hollow. It's a girl, you see," Hagrid said, showing the little basket with two toddlers that were fast asleep.

"Dumbledore? What is going on?" Professor McGonnagal eyes were narrowed as she concentrated.

"I would not wish to think poorly of them, but they may have been trying to hide a squib," Dumbledore said with a sad shake of their head. "And perhaps not for family propriety, but for her own safety."

"But the midwife-!" the older matron exclaimed.

"Could have been easily memory-charmed to forget. James was Auror trained, after all," the oldest wizard expounded. He sighed even as he pulled out a letter, quickly making some changes. Then the two children were left on the door of #4 Privet Lane.

* * *

_Almost ten years later:_

"What did you say, freak?" Dudley Dursley asked. The big (though mostly fat) boy and his gang had Harry surrounded.

"You do realize that Michelle is right behind you?" Harry said with a smirk. His 'big' sister was palming her fist.

"So, Dudley, is there a particular reason you wanted to get thumped for picking on Harry?" she asked. Her hair, like Harry's, was quite dark, an almost black brown. Her eyes were a bright blue compared to his toad-green; their features were quite a bit different, with Michelle having a slightly darker complexion and wider eyes. She was also a good three inches taller than he was.

"Ah, we were just playing!" Dudley said, even as his three friends suddenly looked as nervous as he did.

"So why don't you just play at home?" she asked dangerously.

The four boys almost fell over themselves running away. Michelle's shoulders slumped down as they left. "He didn't manage to do anything to you, did he bro?"

"Nah, he'd just cornered me. Hopefully he doesn't tell Uncle Vernon about this," Harry replied worriedly.

They both headed home to the Dursley residence. School had just let out and Dudley was looking forward to his present for his birthday.

Home with the Dursleys was unusual, to say the least. Harry was the least liked of the two Potter children. It had taken Michelle threatening to go to the teachers just five years ago to get Harry moved out of the cupboard and into the second bedroom upstairs with her. They had a pair of ratty bunk-beds, but they'd adjusted to it with little fuss. They'd even added a changing screen for privacy.

It was about that time that Michelle had found out that she was... different. Stronger, faster and tougher than any child could ever have hoped to be. Considering how Petunia and Vernon kept treating Harry when he did the 'impossible' things occasionally, she'd taken quite a bit of effort to hide her knew abilities from the couple. She hadn't wanted to be treated as poorly as Harry, as he could breath wrong and end up locked in his old cupboard.

But, as brother and sister, they had finally talked it out. They had started to play with their abilities. Harry wasn't able to consistently do anything, but he could make a ball of light, change his hair and sometimes teleport. Michelle had found that she could pick up a car and outrun the express train from London. At least for a short while, anyways!

That was how things stayed for the rest of the month, though things were in the air the two children had no idea on. This morning had started fairly horribly, as Aunt Petunia had explained their 'uniforms' for the local school, Stonewall. She was going to just dye some clothing a very dark color to pass muster. The stench was horrible!

The family heard a thump from the front door.

"Mail's here!" Dudley called out in between bites of his egg.

"Get the mail, Dudley," Vernon replied absently.

"Make Harry get it!" Dudley whined as he busily slathered preserves on his toast.

"Get the mail, Harry!" Vernon said, unhappy that Harry's presence was brought up.

"I've already got it!" Michelle said as she walked in. "Aunt Marge sent a postcard." She handed a letter to Harry with a raised eyebrow even as she slid back into her seat between him and her uncle.

"Harry's got a letter!" Dudley suddenly exclaimed.

"Brilliant observation, Dudley! Soon you will be Sherlock Holmes!" the dark-haired girl retorted.

Vernon and Petunia looked over where Harry was opening and reading a letter.

"Is this a joke?" Harry asked in bewilderment. "This says I've been accepted to a school of witchcraft and wizardry. The Headmaster is expecting a reply!"

Vernon reached across Michelle to grab the offending letter, his face immediately starting to turn red in anger. Michelle took offense to that, pushing back against him and Harry. "Hey! Stop that!" she cried out as she sent them both tumbling.

Her uncle looked surprised at that. He narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You're a lot stronger than you look, aren't you? You're another bloody freak like your brother!"

Michelle flinched as if she'd been struck, while Harry was suddenly angry as he realized that they _knew_. "I'm a wizard! Just like this letter said. _And you knew it!_" he nearly screamed. "You've been hiding this the entire time, haven't you?!"

"We did it for you own good! We wanted to drive that abnormalness out of you! But you kept doing freaky things!" Aunt Petunia screeched out.

Michelle snatched the letter from Harry. "These people don't think he's a freak! They just want to train him to use his abilities!" Little sparks were starting to drift off of her. Suddenly the light bulb exploded, then the microwave.

"Michelle!" Harry yelled, reaching out to grab her but a bolt of electricity struck him, sending him reeling.

That pulled her back to reality and away from her overwhelming anger. "Harry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried out, heading over to her brother.

His hair was sticking up and slightly smoking at the tips. "I'm fine... I think..." Harry was looking quite stunned.

Michelle was almost crying in relief. Vernon and Petunia were sharing terrified looks. "I want them out of my house!" he suddenly shouted. "They are menaces! Both of them!"

The two children shared a quick, horrified look. Harry suddenly piped up, "Well, sending us off to school for most of the year would be good then, right?"

Petunia frowned, but really couldn't fault the logic. "That _would_ get them out of our hair for most of the year!"

"Well, I'm not paying for their ruddy magic school!" the older man shouted. "Out! Petunia and I must discuss this!"

Dudley looked at doorway to the kitchen that the children had just been herded out through. He'd never been denied anything before, so this was a huge shock.

"Harry?" Michelle asked, looking suddenly worried. "How am I supposed to go to this school if I didn't get a letter?"

He looked at her blankly, but nodded in understanding. "I don't know. We'd better ask."

* * *

Dumbledore was sitting across the kitchen table from Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the parents of two Potter children only an hour later.

"So Harry Potter just found out that he is a wizard?" he asked mildly, not showing his irritation in the slightest.

"We didn't want him worrying about wizarding things while he was growing up. We wanted a _normal_ upbringing for him, but it seems he must go to that school of yours!" Petunia said, looking like she'd just swallowed an entire bushel of limes.

"But I'm not paying for either of those brats to go to your school!" Vernon said, almost bristling with pent up anger.

"Harry's tuition and supplies is being handled by a trust fund. Unfortunately, Michelle would be unable to attend Hogwarts. I believe she is a squib," the older man said sadly.

The two muggles shared a quick look. "I thought you understood, that it was _Michelle_ that exploded the microwave?" Petunia explained. "And she's abnormally strong. She knocked over Vernon here like he was a feather-weight."

"How interesting. I do believe I should have a little chat with the two children. I'll handle the arrangements to get the school supplies, of course. Expect a visitor in just a few days." Dumbledore stood up and walked out of the kitchen, catching the three children as they tried to look like they were not eavesdropping at the door. "Ah! Mr. and Miss Potter. If you would please excuse us, Mr. Dursley, as we have private business to attend to."

Dudley glared, but headed up to his room. They then retired to the front room. "So I am to take it that you were the one that caused that surge of accidental magic, Miss Potter?"

"You mean the explosion in the kitchen? I guess so. I was just so angry at the way Uncle Vernon was treating Harry," she replied. She fidgeted. "They've always hated him, calling him a freak when they get going."

"It is very sad that they failed to overcome their prejudices."

"Sir? Why didn't Michelle get a letter?" Harry asked, looking obstinate and ready to dig in his heels.

"It was incorrectly surmised that she was a squib, a wizarding child that could not do magic. Hence why she did appear in certain... documents at her birth. To be quite truthful, I will have to investigate this more thoroughly. A more full explanation will have to await until that comes to light. I will have a letter and ticket sent immediately. Expect my owl within the next few days."

And with that, he departed out the front door.

"You freaks go up to your room! Now!" Petunia shouted from the kitchen.

Michelle looked stricken. Aunt Petunia had never treated her well, but she had never called her as mean a names as she had always done to Harry. She fled up the stairs, stinging tears in her eyes.

* * *

Life at Number 4 Privet Drive had settled uneasily for the next two days. Michelle's admittance letter had arrived by owl, just like Dumbledore had said it would. It was almost noon when the doorbell rang. That admitted a very small figure in robes. Petunia just stared at the gnomish little man in shock.

"Greetings, Mrs. Dursley! May I come in?" the bearded man asked. At their aunt's jerky nod of acceptance, he strode in, looking around with great interest. "Very nice and orderly, ma'am. You muggles have such amazing devices these days. I hear you even have something called a television?"

Dudley was just staring at the old man that was only up to his chest. "You've never seen a tele?" he blurted out.

Harry and Michelle snickered at that. "Dudley wouldn't know what to do without his favorite shows. You are Professor Flitwick?" Michelle asked.

"Yes, indeed! And you are Harry Potter and his sister Michelle? Dumbledore let me know that you two weren't aware of the wizarding world, so I'll have to do a bit of a crash course today. First off, Mr. Potter, you are quite famous for the defeat of You-Know-Who-"

"Actually, we don't know-who," Michelle noted a bit rudely.

"Ah, that is a very good point. You-Know-Who was a very dark and powerful wizard that arose after World War II and almost single-handedly taken over Britain until ten years ago, when he was defeated by his own spell rebounding off a one year old Harry Potter. No one is sure quite how this happened, as the spell is unblockable... especially from such a powerful wizard as You-Know-Who! People are not sure if he is dead or not. Some claim him to be too evil to be killed."

Flitwick looked quite agitated. "But that is all in the past and you two are to be taken to Diagon Alley for your school supplies. We'll just use a Portkey." He actually took a look at the Dursley fireplace. "It's too bad you have that device in the fire place or we could have just hooked up a Floo! Those are much less expensive and easier for young children to use."

Harry and Michelle shared a surprised look. It appeared wizards got around by very different means. Using a fireplace? How did that work? "I guess so, sir."

"Very well!" Flitwick double checked a pocket watch. "Our Portkey will be departing in just a few minutes!" He reached into pocket and pulled out a small wooden hanger. "Gather round and put one hand on the hanger. Goodbye, Mrs. Dursley!"

Petunia went white as the three people disappeared right in front of her.

* * *

"Ah, here we are!" Professor Flitwick said spryly, helping Harry and Michelle to their feet. "You'll get the knack of that eventually. Portkeying plays havoc on your inner ear. You have to learn to ignore it while keeping your balance."

"Where are we?" Harry asked. They seemed to be in a dingy road full of decrepit and rickety looking shops that looked right out of the 13th century.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Mr. Potter. But let's be off before we draw any undue attention. First, we must go to Gringots to get some money from your family vault." It didn't take Flitwick very long to take the two down to the vault, where Harry used the key that the professor gave him to open the door. After acquiring the funds necessary for the rest of the trip, they continued on buying cauldrons, telescopes and potion supplies.

"Well, it is time to get you outfitted at Madam Malkin's! She'll get you right situated for the new school year!" Flitwick exclaimed. "I'll just be right here, waiting for you!" He pulled out a wand and expanded a book that he'd shrunken down to the size of a postal stamp.

A younger, though still adult, witch looked them over. "Hogwarts robes, dears?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Michelle as she and her brother were led to some stools. She leaned over to the witch. "Could we look at some non-robe type outfits for Harry? So he doesn't have to wear those cast-offs any more?"

"Well, it's not really our thing, but I'm sure we can figure something out," the witch replied.

Another girl looked around uncertainly while entering with an older woman behind her that spoke up with, "Susan, it looks like you will have to wait."

"Won't be long, dearie! I'll be right with you!" came the witch who was busy measuring Harry.

"Auntie! That boy has- He's the Boy-That-Lived," she squealed in excitement.

"Yes, Susan, I think you are right. Let's wait for him to finish up and I'll see to introductions," the older woman with a monocle said with a smile. She started to chat with Flitwick as long time acquaintances.

Harry and Michelle were quickly outfitted, the boy quickly changing into a fitting outfit that made him look much more respectable.

Susan ran up and grabbed Harry's hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Harry Potter!"

"I guess you really are famous, Harry!" Michelle said in a kidding tone.

The girl's aunt looked at the two children quizzically. "You did not know you were famous, Mr. Potter?"

"Um, no ma'am. I was raised by my aunt and uncle and they aren't magical at all. They don't even like magic the least little bit," Harry said, pulling back into himself a bit.

"They're really very horrible people, always going on about how much of a burden we are," Michelle said helpfully.

"Oh, I'm Susan Bones," the blonde said, holding out her hand to Michelle. "This is my Auntie Amelia."

"Michelle Potter!" she replied, shaking the proffered hand. Harry and Michelle then shook hands briefly with Amelia.

"It's time to go, children," Professor Flitwick said cheerfully. He waved to the two witches and led the Potter siblings back onto the street. He took another moment to shrink their items and explained how to undo the charm easily with a tap of their wands when they were home. Which led them to the point that they needed wands! "Ah, here we are. Ollivanders Fine Wands!"

"Since 384 B.C.?" Michelle asked.

"Oh, yes. Wands have been used by wizards and witches for ages and ages. Trying to do magic without a wand is just so much ever harder, though it is a useful skill to be able to do _some _magic without a wand. And, of course, you don't use a wand in potions and the such." Flitwick seemed quite happy to teach as he shepherded them along. "Hello, Mr. Ollivander!"

"Hogwarts students?" the older wizard said from the shadows as he stepped up.

"Yes, indeed!" the professor replied. "This is Harry Potter and his sister, Michelle!"

Michelle pouted at that. Was she always going to be known as Harry's sister? She watched as Harry was fitted with a wand, which seemed to take quite a while.

"-this wand shared brother cores with but one other wand. That wand did great things, terrible but great. As a matter of fact, it gave you this scar," Ollivander said as he pointed towards Harry's scar.

Harry licked his lip, scowling. Michelle wasn't sure she like this Ollivander any more. "And now for Michelle Potter."

She held up her right arm mutely, letting herself get measured. Surprisingly, she was even harder to find a match for. Finally, Ollivander had to go into storage and pull up some really old stock of wands that hadn't sold in centuries. Finally Michelle lazily flicked a pale wand and nearly blew herself out the front window with a snap-pop of electricity from her wand.

"Now that is interesting. I may have to revise my thinking of the impossibility of golden dragon scales," Ollivander said as Michelle picked herself up.

"Hey! I could have been really hurt here!" she shouted.

"Nonsense, dear! Unless it killed you instantly, St. Mungo's could have fixed you up in a jiffy!" the proprietor said happily. "Wizards are really quite resilient. Your magic acts to protect your life."

Harry and Michelle just shared an incredulous look at each other. Were all wizards this barmy?

"Many muggle born wizards and witches have a hard time adapting to that thinking. But really, broken bones and other maladies are easily correctable by wizarding medicine," Professor Flitwick explained with a cheerful smile.

Yup, wizard were all crazy it seemed.

* * *

The last month was quiet on the home-front, though Michelle had a new appreciation for her brother's suffering. The Dursleys alternated between ignoring that they existed and shouting at the abnormal freaks they were forced to raise and/or live with.

Michelle was picked to approach their aunt, as she was treated slightly less terrible than Harry. "Auntie? We were wondering if you could give us a lift to the train station tomorrow?" the young girl asked nervously.

"I guess so. Be ready to leave bright and early," she replied with a sniff.

The next day, the entire family piled into Vernon's car. Once there were at the train station, Vernon just laughed nastily when they told him the platform number. "Seems they forgot to build your train platform. Well, that's not _our_ problem know, is it?" The Dursleys turned and headed back to their car.

Harry started to hyperventilate. "There is no platform 9 and 3/4s!"

"Harry! Calm down!" Michelle waited a second, but there was no reaction from Harry. Carefully holding back her strength, she slapped him. "Harry! Panicking isn't going to help! Think!"

"Ow! You didn't have to hit so hard!" Harry complained, holding his red cheek. He really did start thinking though. Suddenly, both Potter's exclaimed, "It must be hidden!"

"I bet you it's to keep 'Muggles' from seeing the train. Must be something unusual about it," Michelle thought aloud. They spent about five minutes exploring the walls between platforms Nine and Ten.

"Hmm. This is trickier than I thought," Harry said as he started thinking harder. Maybe if he focused on the wall and tried to force it to show him the entrance?

He was staring at it very hard when Michelle leaned up against the wall to rest a moment. Without a flicker, she disappeared as if the wall was not solid at all. He grabbed the handle on the trolley and poked his hand against the wall. It still felt solid. He had just closed his eyes when Michelle reached through the illusion and pulled him and their luggage through.

"Ah! It was an illusion!" Harry exclaimed.

"No duh!" his sister retorted. "That is one wicked looking train. Though I wonder why they are using an old coal train. Didn't they switch over to diesel years ago?"

That started the two siblings started arguing about why they would use such an old train. They lugged there trunks into train (though Michelle was doing the heavy lifting) and looked for someplace to sit. As they were looking around, they saw Susan and another young girl who also had blonde hair.

"Hello, Susan!" Harry called out cheerfully.

"See! I told you Harry Potter was going to Hogwarts! Hullo Harry! You and your sister can sit with us!" Susan called out. "This is Lavender Brown. She's also a first year."

"Hello! I'm Harry and this is my sister Michelle!" he said as he shook her hand.

"Sister? That isn't in any of the books!" Lavender exclaimed.

"Books? I'm in _books?_" he exclaimed worriedly. "All for something I don't even remember?"

"I bet I wasn't included because they thought I was a quibs," Michelle groused aloud. She lifted up the trunks easily, setting them up above.

"Quibs? Oh, you mean squib! Why'd they think that?" Lavender asked curiously.

"Dunno, but when I blew up the microwave when Harry's letter arrived, Professor Dumbledore thought he had done it, not me." Michelle shrugged.

"Sounds like things got a little intense there. Family problems?" Lavender asked with an intent gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, yes. Our aunt and uncle were going to refuse to allow Harry to go to school. Seems like they'd known he was a wizard the whole time and hadn't told us," Michelle said not noticing Harry wince at that.

That seemed to upset Susan. "That's not right! They should have told you that! And to keep Harry from Hogwarts? How dare he!?"

"Well, after we explained everything, Dumbledore sent me a letter, two. And here we are!" Michelle said cheerfully. "Now we are the whole school year away from the Dursleys!"

"Can't disagree with that thought, Michelle!" Harry said cheerfully.

It wasn't long before the train left the station, right on the dot at eleven o'clock. The four new students talked over the differences between being raised muggle and wizarding, finding a lot of unusual common ground. Susan actually lived with some cousins, but her aunt had taken her in for her supplies. Her parents had also been murdered by Voldemort over ten years ago.

Lavender shuddered at that. "Can we change the discussion?" she pleaded.

That was when Harry was subjected to the vagaries of three young witches gushing over how cute such and such actor or singer was. He quickly retreated to one of his school books, randomly opening his potions book. He was pulled from his book by a witch asking them if they wanted something from the cart.

The other two witches explained the different treats, though Michelle forced Harry to buy some 'real' food, not just treats.

The door to their compartment opened suddenly, admitting a bossy-sounding witch that said, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

"No, sorry. All we've got is an owl," Susan said pointing to her own owl.

"Honestly, I'd lose my toad if I had one. Those are so last decade," Lavender exclaimed after the bushy-haired girl left.

"At least she's nice enough to try and help a boy find his toad," Michelle noted. "A bit pushy though."

A moment later, a boy opened up the door. "Has anyone seen a toad?" he asked nervously.

"You must be Neville," Susan said with a smile. "Sorry, all we have is my owl."

"Oh, thanks. I guess Hermione already asked then. She's really driven." He smiled timorously, looking around at his new school-mates. "Oh, you're Harry Potter!" he exclaimed when he spotted Harry's scar on his forehead. "Wow!"

"Er, thanks?" Harry replied as Neville shook his hand excitedly. After the door was closed, he asked plaintively, "Is everyone going to be doing that for something I don't even remember?"

"That _**is **_really weird. Back in our old neighborhood everyone wouldn't even give Harry the time of day. But that's because Dudley says the nastiest things about us," Michelle explained. "I bet you Uncle Vernon tries to claim that he goes to St. Brutus's School of Incurable Delinquents or some rot like that."

Susan looked even more outraged at that. It wasn't long after that they arrived and all the students started to exit the train. A huge man directed all the First Years into small boats down at the lake edge. Once everyone was loaded up, they pushed off across the lake magically. After passing through a dock in a cave, they were led up to a doorway where Professor McGonnagal took charge of the lot of them. After admonishing them to stay there, she went to check on the progress of the welcoming feast.

That was when the school ghosts arrived, startling the lot of them. Nothing would have come of it, but Michelle jumped backwards, sending six people over like tenpins. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"My noz!" a blond boy exclaimed, holding his hand up staunch his bleeding nose. "You bwoke it!"

"Ah!" she replied, looking totally flustered. "I didn't mean to! I just don't know my own strength sometimes!"

That was when the old witch with square-rim glasses reappeared. "What is going on?"

"I accidentally broke his nose! I didn't mean to-" Michelle explained, looking very upset.

"Can you make it through the sorting, young man?" McGonnagal asked. "I'll have Madam Pomfrey fix you up afterwards!"

Draco nodded while he held his nose. "I think it's stopping." He had a sleeve held up against his nose.

And with that, the student were led into the great hall and lined up. McGonnagal put a tattered and battered wizard's hat on a stool. The Sorting Hat broke out into its welcoming song, explaining the virtues of each house. Michelle was listening raptly, never having imagined a talking hat before. She barely noted when her friends from the train were sorted. Susan ended up in Gryffindor along with Lavender.

Finally it was Harry's turn. Like several others before him, the hat sat on his head for quite a while. "Slytherin!" it finally shouted. There was a pregnant silence and suddenly the table under the green and silver banners exploded with cries of "We got Potter!" and "Boy-Who-Lived!" much to the laughter of the other tables.

Harry smiled nervously as he sat down at the Slytherin table.

Now it was Michelle's turn as the hat settled on her head. _Ah, another hard one!_ the hat exclaimed to her. "Oh, Slytherin please. I need to stick with Harry." _Are you sure? _She nodded, sending the hat bobbing.

The hat shouted, "Slytherin!"

She ran over to sit by Harry to listen to all of the rest of the First Years being sorted. The blond boy, who she found out was named Draco Malfoy, had his broken nose tended to by another older witch. After some odd expositions from Professor Dumbledore, the meal was served. Harry and Michelle found out some information on some of the other Slytherins and that their dorms were going to be in the dungeons.

Dumbledore finished up the welcoming feast with a warning about the Forbidden Forest and the 3rd floor, then led the school song, which just about broke poor Michelle.

Everything was going fine for Michelle as Marcus Flint led them down to their entrance and to their dorms. It wasn't until she tried to play her CD player that she found out that electronics didn't work at all. She looked aghast at all of her CDs in their portable jacket. "My music!" she wailed.

Millicent just snickered. "Are you a muggle born?"

Michelle shook her head as she sat on her green-draped four-poster bed. "No, but my Aunt and Uncle are muggles and don't like magic at all." She flopped back on her bed. "Damn it! So it's the magic of the school that keeps my CD player from working? I brought all my music and it's useless."

Pansy just smirked. "Why would you want that silly muggle contraption to work anyways?"

_All_ of the other girls looked at her like she was crazy. Michelle finally spoke up, "You do realize how nice CDs sound, right?"

"Just like records?" the half-blood asked.

"No, like a _perfect_ record, every time you play it. Yay for digital playback. Boo for magic mucking it up!" Michelle said. Maybe she could get away from the school and it will start working?

"Mental, the lot of you," Millicent retorted.

* * *

It only took a few days, but Harry and Draco found out they got along like vinegar and oil. That is to say, not at all! Draco's condescending attitude towards the non-pureblooded grated on Harry's nerves almost immediately.

It all came to a boil Thursday after Herbology when Draco made some very degrading comments about the teacher on the way back to the castle.

"I swear, the teachers at school now are quite stupid. I should talk to my father," Draco was explaining to any who would care. "Everyone knows Hufflepuffs are so pathetic that they only do well at Herbology because of their head of house." He was still smarting from her disciplining him in front of the other students.

"She seemed to know her work and was loads better than that ghost Binns," Harry noted coolly.

Michelle winced at that. Not that she disagreed, but because it could earn Harry a beating when she wasn't around at some point.

"I bet she's nearly a squib," Draco continued to complain. Finally noting Harry's expression, he smirked. "What? You aren't feeling like sticking _up_ for her, are you?" Crabbe and Goyle moved up behind him.

That was when Michelle stood behind her brother.

"I think you're just upset because she called you out in front of the class," Harry said tightly.

"So what if I am?" Draco said with a sneer.

"Then just gripe about getting humiliated in class. You don't know anything about her do you?" he asked.

Draco seemed to be measuring the situation. He finally snorted and then laughed. "No, not really. Besides, who likes that sort of attention?"

"No one!" Michelle catcalled to the other girls' laughter. She stopped to look over the grounds, watching Malfoy as unobtrusively as possible.

So she was the only one that saw him give Harry a nasty glare as they headed into Hogwarts.

* * *

Friday was a relief, as all they had today was potions with their head of house for half a day. Harry and Michelle were quite happy, as they hadn't gotten lost at all on the way to the great hall. Getting back to potions would be a snap, as it had been pointed out to them the several times on their way back to the dungeons and their dormitories.

Harry was looking at a letter that had been delivered by a tawny owl from the groundskeeper Rebus Hagrid. "So, do you think I should meet him? It says he knows our parents."

Michelle finished her toast before answering. "Don't see why not. Could be fun to get an unbiased view of them." It went without saying that anything Aunt Petunia would say about them would be biased.

As soon as Harry was finished, they departed for potions with Pansy and Theodore. This was one class that Harry and Michelle thought they might be able to do well in, as they'd always liked chemistry. Theodore was laughing about a story where Harry had made a stink bomb and left it in Dudley's room.

They moved to sit next to the other Slytherins, where Draco was raising an eyebrow as Theodore's sharp laughter. Several Gryffindors were giving the laughing boy a strange look also. Finally a red-haired boy from Gryffindor entered in and sat down only moments before Professor Snape made his impressive entrance.

He started with grabbing all their attentions with a soft spoken exposition, having them all hang on his words. Harry blinked as he finished up by denigrating all of his students as possible dunderheads. That was when things turned strange as Snape turned and started snapping out questions to Harry, of which he was only able to answer one question even partially correct.

Hermione, the bushy-haired girl from the train, was frantically waving her hand. She almost seemed to be bursting to try to answer the questions. Just as Harry was about to retort to the professor to ask the girl, Michelle kicked him in the ankle.

"Shush!" Michelle whispered out the side of her mouth to him. "He's trying to goad you."

Then Snape answered all of the questions he'd bombarded Harry with in a very condescending manner. "Oh, and three points from Gryffindor for being pushy," he finished off, looking at the girl who's hand stopped waving and slowly pulled it back down.

All of the Gryffindor girls looked outraged at that, but kept their mouths closed. Strangely, the red-haired Griffindor boy looked smug at that pronouncement. The rest of the class was a nightmare for most of the students, as Snape would appear at their elbows at seemingly critical moments to criticize their efforts. The only one that seemed adequate was Draco, though Michelle thought that their's was actually had better color.

Neville had no luck, managing to melt his cauldron and hurt his hand from the mess, sending him off to the infirmary. Finally, the end of the class arrived and they all trooped out.

"What was with that interrogation? I'm surprised you even knew of one answer there, Harry," Michelle complained.

"Well, I didn't even have all of the answer," he replied with a shrug. "And he never called on Hermione, even though she obviously knew the answers. He seems a right jerk."

Neither noticed the young girl behind them smile brightly as they inadvertently stood up for her.

* * *

Harry knocked on the door on the large wooden hut. A large dog started barking heralded the arrival of the huge man that had led them across the lake when they first arrived.

"Down boy! 'ello, 'arry! I'm Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Caretaker 'ere at Hogwarts!" the bushy-bearded man boomed out in greeting. "Oh, this must be Michelle! Crikey, you two were tiny the last time I saw you."

The siblings shared a quick look. "I'm sorry? We've met?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Why, I was the one that pulled you from the wreckage after You-Know-Who had just, er, killed James and Lily," the big man said as he directed them to some rickety seats. He offered them some rock cakes, which Harry nearly broke his teeth on.

Michelle crunched her rock cake noisily, enjoying the loud noises it made. Hagrid just laughed at Harry's expression. "She's the first one that's done 'at!" he chortled. He handed her even more rock cakes to take back to their dorms.

Hagrid then started to go over his memories of their parents with the two children, though he had a pensive expression when his gaze lingered on Michelle. All in all, it was a fairly enjoyable afternoon.

Harry and Michelle were talking over the visit as they headed back to their dorms before supper when Draco and Goyle stood in their way.

"Why, hello Harry. I thought we'd have a bit of a private discussion," Draco said as Crabbe moved behind the two Potters. "Let's get one thing straight, Harry. I don't appreciate being made to look bad. Especially in front of others."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Then you shouldn't do stupid things in public." He clenched his fists and balanced lightly on his toes.

The boy's cheek's started to burn in an angry flush. "I'd watch what you say, Harry. I'm just trying to give you some friendly advice."

"No, you're trying to bully me. And I don't like bullies," Harry retorted hotly. "I had a lot of that from my cousin."

"I guess you need a more pointed lessen," the scion of house Malfoy said. Crabbe cracked his knuckles even as Goyle grabbed Michelle from behind.

"Draco's yours, Harry," Michelle said in a sickly sweet voice. She broke the large boy's grasp on her and knocked him down against the wall. Incredibly strong fingers snatched Crabbe from in front of Draco, much to both of the other boy's surprise.

"That's Michelle-ese for 'this is my own fight'," Harry explained, even as he lashed out a punch to Draco's chin, snapping his head back. "She won't interfere with us, Draco."

The other boy snarled, charging at Harry clumsily to slam him into the wall with an 'ooph' noise. Goyle stood back up. Whatever compunction about not hitting girls he'd had was gone as he double-fisted a blow to the back of her head... which netted him with blinding pain from hitting her almost rock-hard head.

"Hey! I actually felt that!" Michelle replied. She shook that off quickly, slapping aside a slow punch from Crabbe.

Harry and Draco were rolling on the ground for a good minute when Professor Snape finally showed up to investigate the noises of fighting near his class. "What is going on?" he yelled out as he separated them with a swish of his wand.

"Just a disagreement of principle," Michelle said sweetly as she let Crabbe go. He was giving her a very worried look even as Goyle was still holding his hurting hands. "It just became a bit... energetic."

"Draco?" Snape asked, looking over the black-eyed and limping boy.

"Potter picked a fight with me!" he suddenly declared. "Said it was all about my Deatheater father." Crabbe and Goyle nodded there heads just a moment later.

"About a what? What's a Deatheater?" Harry asked, looking confused but angry.

Michelle was just glaring at Draco. "Right, because the two of us decided that jumping three people was smart."

"You seemed to be doing all right, Miss Potter," the teacher said as he looked down his nose at her.

"We've had to defend ourselves in the past from other bullies," she replied sweetly. Harry coughed at that, as it was usually Michelle that was doing the defending.

"So, Mr. Potter, playing on your celebrity status? Do you really expect me to believe that you do not know what a Deatheater is. Just for that, both of you have a detention. Show up to clean cauldrons Monday night at eight o'clock sharp," the professor said with a harsh tone. "Mr. Malfoy, why don't you and your friends go visit Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yes, sir," everyone mumbled.

Harry and Michelle headed on down to the Slytherin common room. Theodore was unobtrusively reading on one of the cushy green velvet chairs near the fireplace. He jerked a bit when they entered, something Harry noted. Harry then put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the fire.

"Afternoon, Theo. I take it you weren't expecting to see us before Draco?" he asked casually.

Michelle quirked an eyebrow at that. "Oh?"

A bit nervously, he nodded. "Not... really. Sounds like you met up with him and his goons." The reedy-looking boy seemed intrigued by what Harry would answer.

"Seems Malfoy isn't quite so good at beating people up himself when he doesn't have Crabbe and Goyle at his beck and call," Harry said in a detached voice.

"Those three are thick as thieves. I'm surprised they weren't there with Draco," Theo noted.

"Who says they weren't? They were just a bit busy dealing with Michelle," Harry replied. She just just waved with a little smile.

Theo frowned at that. "She held off those two lugs?"

"She's right scary, that one. A total brute!" he chirped out happily. After she swatted his arm, he pretended to hold it like it really hurt. "See? This is the family I have to put up with!"

Theo just snickered. "Very funny."

"So, Theodore? What's a Deatheater and why should we care that Malfoy's dad was one?" Michelle asked as she fell into a couch with a huff while glaring at her brother.

He just stared at them. "Oh, right. Muggle raised. Deatheaters were You-Know-Who's followers. They killed and terrorized on his whim and command."

Both twins jerked at that, looking at him with cold eyes. "Malfoy's father followed You-Know-Who?" Harry asked harshly.

"Claimed he was under the Imperious... though that is open to debate," Theodore said while licking his lips nervously.

"Thanks, Theo. No one tells us anything," Michelle said. The two Potters stared into the fire moodily as Theodore wandered off, the dim sea-green light from the under-water windows fitting their mood just perfectly.

"I don't think I like the Wizarding World quite as much," Harry said quietly.

"I think I agree."

* * *

The week started with an announcement of flying lessons was greeted with much happiness by most of the students.

"Witches really fly on brooms?" Michelle asked Pansy incredulously.

"Of course! You don't expect us to walk everywhere like Muggles, do you?" the other girl had asked.

"-it's such a shame that they don't allow First Years to own a broom. And we're saddled with the Gryffindors," Draco was complaining. His excitement about flying was very obvious as they trooped down to breakfast.

All of the Slytherins dealt with the classes in their own way. Harry and Michelle basically ignored Draco and his buddies, while socializing a bit with some of the others. Harry thought it was hilarious watching Milly (Millicent!) try to to intimidate Michelle. Millicent could feel that Michelle was totally unworried by her attempts to loom over her and crowd her space. That seemed to frustrate her, though Tracey was slowly starting to gravitate towards Michelle because of that. Pansy and Daphne were watching that closely, as it seemed to upset their carefully set up pecking order.

All too soon, the day was over. Harry and Michelle left their common room for Professor Snape's class. Harry knocked right at eight o'clock. "Hello?"

"Come in!" Snape called out. "Ah, I see our celebrity is here. You'll find your status holds no sway here, Mr. Potter."

Harry just shrugged while Michelle gave him a look that bespoke that Snape was off his rockers.

"You'll clean all of these cauldrons tonight, using just these two scrubbers. Get to it!" he snapped out, infuriated by their lack of response. The quiet scrapping of various potions remains from the cauldrons was pure drudgery. He listened to them for about ten minutes, then focused more on his papers he was grading.

It was twenty minutes later that he noted that the scrapping noise had changed. Not less energetic, like they were wearing down, but that one of the workers was actually speeding up. Surreptitiously, he watched Michelle hands moving faster and faster as she scraped off the residues. Her hands were almost blurs for a good five minutes, until Harry leaned over and whispered something, causing her to slow down.

"No talking!" the professor called out without seeming to look up.

An hour later, Snape was confused about what he'd seen. The two children had worked without complaint and cleaned every single cauldron. He'd found that they swapped cauldrons after they finished one, verifying that they had actually cleaned it to their satisfaction. It almost seemed like they knew exactly how to make sure they did the job exactly as needed to even his expectations.

"Professor? We're done, I think," Michelle called out as she stacked the last cauldron.

Snape made an appearance of checking all the cauldrons, but could find none that were unclean, though he made disparaging sniffs. "Very well. Go on, get out of here you two delinquents. If you get into another fight, I'll make sure to assign your detentions with Filtch."

The two first years departed quickly. Snape stared at the door for a long moment. What had he seen there? Something Harry Potter did _not_ find unusual. Was it an unusual magical talent like animagus or metamorhigus? Somehow, he did not think so.

* * *

"That was weird. Almost as bad as the Dursleys," Harry noted as they walked into the Slytherin common room.

"He almost looked disappointed that we had cleaned them all so quickly," Michelle laughed out, stifling a giggle.

"Well, I'm going to sack out," her brother said, stretching to relieve his poor back.

"You've finished Professor McGonnagal's transfiguration essay?" was the surprised response.

"Well, somewhat." Harry shrugged.

"No somewhat anymore, Harry! We don't have to hold back our grades for _poor_ Dudley's sake anymore! So go get your essay and _**I'll**_ check it out." Michelle just glared at him until he started moving, even as he muttered about mental girls.

Harry stepped into the First Year, boy's dorm only to be yanked off his feet by Crabbe and pulled further into the room. The bigger boy had been waiting just outside of sight as Draco closed the door, locking it.

"Well, well. Your sister isn't here, is she?" the blond haired boy said with a small chuckle. "I think I owe you a few bruises."

Both Crabbe and Goyle had him held between the two. Draco stepped up and rabbit punched him hard, causing Harry to gasp in pain. Down the hall, Michelle suddenly looked over towards Harry, seemingly concentrating very hard as Pansy and Millicent walked over and tried to start a conversation.

"Hello, Michelle? How was detention with Professor Snape?" the sharp-faced witch asked.

Draco's second punch was harder, but brought about a surprising reaction as Harry just grimaced. His third was even harder, causing another gasp of pain.

"Are you a lack-wit?" Pansy was saying when Michelle started running down the hallway towards the First Year boy's dormitory. Millicent grabbed Michelle from behind, for all the lack of trouble it caused the smaller girl. It was almost comical seeing the larger girl being dragged behind without notice. Pansy was left gaping at the oddity.

Michelle bounced off the locked door, causing Draco and his cronies to look away from Harry for just a second inside the room. The Potter girl suddenly snapped out a kick, shattering the solid oak door like it was balsa wood. Millicent just gaped, realizing that she effectively had a tiger by the throat.

"Are you looking for another beating, Draco?" Michelle said, her voice very low and dangerous sounding from the doorway. The burly Slytherin girl let her go, backing up quickly. Just down the hall, a couple of Second Year Slytherin boy stuck their heads out their dorms to see what caused the crash was.

Draco blinked as he looked at the ruined door that the normal-seeming girl had just casually kicked in. "Hey, this is the boy's dorm!"

Between one blink and another, Michelle suddenly had him hoisted by one hand, lifting him off his toes as casually as you would pick up a kitten. "Draco, let me make one thing clear," Michelle stated coldly. "If I find you ganging up on Harry, I'll hit you once for each time you hit Harry. And I hit a whole lot harder than you do."

The over-pretty Slytherin was kicking his legs frantically to no avail. "We weren't-"

"Draco, do you want me to start with how many times you've already hit him?" she hissed out, her hair rising up as if a wind had kicked up.

"We won't! I promise!" Draco suddenly cried out, his eyes wild in fear.

Michelle slammed him down hard on his feat, causing his knees to buckle, forcing him to almost kneel. "Good. Harry's the nice Potter, I'm the mean Potter. Got that?" She then pushed him back while letting go of his robe, sending him sprawling to the ground. She then turned to Crabbe and Goyle and glared.

They quickly released their hold and started brushing off his robes. "Uh, sorry," Goyle said stupidly, his thick jowls not hiding his fear at all, even as Crabbe nodded frantically.

"What is going on here?" Marcus Flint shouted out as he entered the door. He took in the broken door, the girl and the four boys. "Potter, Snape said you weren't to get into any more fights! That makes the whole house look bad!"

Harry grimaced in pain. "I wasn't fighting."

"No, he was getting beaten up. Draco decided that Harry should be the impromptu star in a blanket party. I was just informing him of what would happen if he did it again," Michelle said. She glared at the door. "Drat, I didn't mean to break the whole door. Just the lock."

Marcus Flint put a nasty grin on his face. "Well, that's why we have magic. _Repario!_" he shouted while pointing at the door with his wand. It flew back together.

"Nice!" she replied, beaming a two hundred megawatt smile at him. "I do so hate _breaking_ things irreparably." She then sent a glare at Draco as he was standing up, then stomped off back to the common room.

"Potter, are you all right?" Flint asked as he saw Harry wincing as he gathered his homework.

"I've had worse," Harry said, shrugging.

He turned and left to go back to the common room. He and Michelle were going over his homework, which she was being thoroughly brutal in criticizing it.

"Is there some reason you've turned into the second coming of Attila the Hun?" Harry asked heatedly

"Yeah, this-" she said while pointing at the homework, "-is the only thing standing between you and the likes of Malfoy when I'm not around. So I'm not going to let you slack off at all. You remember what Flitwick said? That people _think_ that Voldemort is dead. And now we live in the same dorms with his followers' children."

Harry paled at that, but was suddenly concentrating a bit harder. His homework, when completed, was much more insightful.

* * *

The day of the flying lesson had finally arrived. All of the First Year Gryffindor and Slytherins all trooped out to the lawn inside the outer walls. Madam Hooch started in on her blustering speech about expelling people for doing stupid things on their broom.

"Hello, Susan! Lavender!" Harry said softly from the Slytherin side. "Do you really think she'll expel us for messing up this lesson?"

Lavender looked surprised, but Susan just shook her head. "I doubt it, but she'll probably give us detentions."

Behind her, the red-headed boy that Harry wasn't sure of seemed to be giving him dirty looks. "He's just a slimy Slytherin, Susan. You should just ignore him," he stated a little louder.

Susan just rolled her eyes. "Ron, he's just chatting. Nothing wrong with that."

Hermione and Neville nodded their heads at that. They were interrupted as Hooch had them all ready themselves and then order the brooms into their hands. Harry was pleased when the broom snapped up into his hand on the first attempt. Susan managed it in only two times with Michelle. Ron managed on his third time. Everyone else seemed to have some sort of hangup, taking a bit of help from the teacher.

She had them mount up, then traveled up and down the line correcting people's grips. Harry and Michelle had to snicker when Hooch corrected Malfoy, telling him he must have been doing it wrong for years when he complained. Then she told them to get ready.

That was when Neville started to panic, lifting off the ground. He seemed to ignore Hootch's order to come back down... at least on his broom. Once he was about fifty feet up, he slipped off and plummeted down to the ground.

There was a crack-snap and Michelle was suddenly there, catching him on bent knees. Everyone blinked.

"Nice catch, Michelle!" Harry called out good-naturedly.

She stuck out her tongue at her brother and then set Neville on his feet. "You all right?" At his nod, she patted him on the back and then trotted back over to her broom to sit mount back up on it.

The rest of the class was quite enjoyable, only marred by Draco finding an item of Neville's, a Remembrall. Hootch thanked him for finding it and made him give it back without a fuss.

As the class was breaking up, Madam Hootch pulled Harry to the side as Michelle waited. "Harry, I think you have some serious talent with flying a broom. Why don't you see about practicing up this year and try out for your house Quidditch team next year?"

"Er, I suppose." Harry decided right then and there that he'd try out, as he really liked flying.

* * *

The next few months almost flew by, with only the first Quidditch game between Slytherin and Gryffindor really interrupting the tedium of school. Theodore and Zabini were companionable to Harry, as Malfoy decided that snubbing Harry would have to do. Michelle found that Tracey was decent to hang out with; keeping Pansy, Daphne and Millicent from pushing her around.

It was the Halloween Feast, which Harry and Michelle thought was quite fine even as Draco was complaining it was 'plebian' affair. That was when the door slammed open as Professor Quirrell announced there was a troll in the dungeon... then fainted dead away! Pandemonium erupted until Dumbledore took charge by making a loud bang come from his wand.

Harry and Michelle were starting to follow Flint out the Great Hall when Michelle suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wait! I just remembered Hermione never made it to the feast."

"What?" Harry had been wondering why she kept glancing over at the Gryffindor table.

"Ron Weasley made a mean comment and she's been crying in the loo all afternoon. Come on, we'll just swing by there and make sure she went back to her common room," she said, dragging him away when Flint wasn't looking.

"I am not being dragged into the girl's loo!" Harry hissed out as he was dragged into the darker reaches of the castle.

She dragged them into a darker shadow, just in time to see Snape swish by in a hurry as he headed _upstairs_ not down into the dungeons. The Potters shared a quick confused look at that, but continued on the second floor, turning the corner just in time to see a huge lumbering form duck down into a doorway.

"I think that's a troll," Michelle said, licking her lips nervously. "And it just went into the girl's loo!"

That was when a scream erupted from the loo, muffled by the door. Michelle opened the door with Harry right behind her. Under the better lit conditions of the bathroom, the massive and lumpy form of the troll was almost as nauseating as its stench. Hermione was crouched into a corner, terrified as the troll casually smashed four bathroom stalls as it lumbered towards her.

"Hermione!" Harry cried out, charging forward and leaped onto the troll's back for all the good that did.

The troll turned to try to hear where Harry's voice was, skidding its club across the ground. With a sickening crunch, it smashed Hermione outstretched left leg. Hermione screamed in horror as she saw her leg twisted at an unnatural angle.

Harry slid down its back, which was closer to Hermione now where she was hyperventilating. "Michelle! Hermione's hurt bad!" He took a deep breath, then looked over at her intently. "Don't hold back, no matter what!"

The troll had continued lumbering towards Michelle, snuffling. It suddenly growled, smashing the sinks right by it.

Michelle then snatched the nearest sink off the wall as casually as you would an apple off a tree then threw it with great force at the troll's head.

It shattered on his face, staggering the troll back in surprise. A trickle of blood dripped from the troll, its face changed comically from surprise, then to thinking very hard and then finally... anger. With a bellowing roar, it stomped over while smashing the club at the small girl.

She blurred left, then blurred right and jumped over a low swing. That proved to be her undoing, as the brutish being reacted by letting go of the club with one hand and backhanding her through the door in a shower of splinters to smash against the unyielding stone walls of Hogwarts.

The troll stooped below the door, to stare suspiciously at the girl as she pulled herself to her feet with a groan. With a huffing roar it exited the girl's bathroom and gripped its club in both hands. With another ear-splitting roar he tried to smash the tiny girl in front of him out of his existence.

The club made a ta-tapping noise as two petite hands caught the rough-hewn log, stopping its downward motion. The troll just stared in amazement. He pulled his club back up out of her reach as she smacked his almost unfeeling legs.

"This isn't working," Michelle complained as she dodged another blow. Her hands were stinging from blocking the club.

Harry snapped into existence down the hall. "Thank goodness that worked," he muttered as he started to stagger under Hermione's weight. Every other attempt to teleport seemed to be blocked, so he'd had tried the really hard way of imagining everything else around him moving. The squeezing way seemed to have a wall in its way.

"-yu can'd appawate in Hogwurz," Hermione complained muzzily through her pain even as she held onto Harry's neck and on his back. She gasped in pained shock as her broken leg was shifted.

That was when Professors Dumbledore, McGonnagal and Sprout rounded the corner just fifty feet down the hall as they exited the stairs at that point.

"Miss Potter!" McGonnagal shouted in fright.

Michelle looked over her shoulder, losing her focus in the fight at just the wrong moment. Reacting with thugish cunning, the troll reared back and then clubbed her with everything he had with a maniacal look in his wild eyes. With a resounding crack she was sent flying from the low bat, skidding up the hallway wall in a nice arc while knocking pictures off the walls to land some twenty feet behind the trio of professors.

"Michelle!" Harry screamed in horror.

They stared at the crumpled form in horror until, to everyone's shock, Michelle sat straight up. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!" she screamed out.

Before they could blink, Michelle disappeared in a blurring-bolt of reddish lightning that crashed into the surprised troll. "You!" she screamed as she kicked its knee, "could!" piledriving her fists into his wrists, "have!" as fists sank into the troll's stomach, "killed!" and finally leaping up seven feet straight up to lay a massive upper-cut to the trolls jaw that laid it low, "ME!"

She landed on the ground unsteadily, panting heavily with pupils that were heavily constricted to mere pinpoints. Her fists were shaking even as she looked around wildly.

Three scarlet beams of magic hit her from the professors. She blinked. "-tired now-" she managed to mumble before crashing face first to the ground.

"Well, I daresay that the mystery of Michelle Potter really just became rather urgent and in need of being resolved," Dumbledore said casually. With a wave, he levitated Hermione off Harry's back. "Why don't we see about getting Miss Granger to the hospital wing."

* * *

Michelle opened her eyes and tried to move to scrub the sleep out of her eyes, only to find her whole body was covered in ropes that tied her to a bed. "Hey!" she called out. This wasn't funny!

Madam Pomfrey rounded the cloth curtains. "Ah, Miss Potter. It seems you managed to give them quite a scare. I don't understand how, as I could only find a few fading bruises."

"Oh! The troll! But why am I tied up?" she asked, though she thought she had a very good idea of why.

"It seems Professor Dumbledore thinks you had something to do with _beating up a troll!_ The things he thinks up!" the mediwitch said in a scandalized tone of voice.

"Ah, right!" Would they expel her for that? If fighting was bad, fighting a troll would probably be worse.

"I'll let Professor Dumbledore know you're awake, dearie!" she replied as she moved to the door of the of the hospital wing and then closed it behind her.

Michelle fidgeted for a minute until a new imperative intruded on her. She really, really had to go to the bathroom. "Um, hello?" she called out. She tried to wait a bit longer, squirming under the ropes. Finally, she decided she just couldn't wait. She started to flex against the ropes... which, amazingly, didn't stretch or fray at all. She started to put more effort into it. With a sudden crack, the bed under her shattered, loosening the ropes a little bit. "Thank goodness," she said as she wiggled out.

She was just exiting the lavatory when Professor Dumbledore just entered the wing in front of McGonnagal, Snape and Pomfrey. "Um, sorry... I just really had to go..." she mumbled.

Dumbledore's chuckled as he took in the destruction of the bed. "Yes, I suppose you did. I'll have to remember to strengthen the bed next time though. Now, Miss Potter, we really need to discuss things with you. Madam Pomfrey, if you will excuse us?" With a wave of his wand, the plethora of ropes disappeared. Another swish and the bed was repaired. "Now, Miss Potter, if you would please explain everything about your incredible powers of strength and durability."

She looked nervously on for a moment, then almost seemed to slump in apathy. "Well, I've always been tougher than normal, I think. But I didn't notice I was stronger than normal until I was... six I think. I'm really, really fast too. I can outrun trains for a little bit."

"So you don't remember any potions or rituals that were ever used upon yourself?" the old wizard asked as he stroked his long white beard. The sacrifice to empower someone with such powers for such a long time beggared his imagination.

"Um, no sir. I've always sort of downplayed my abilities. Other than protecting Harry from getting beat up by gangs of bullies, I really don't like fighting," she replied.

"Ah, so you are Mr. Potter's thug then," Snape drawled.

"Nope! If he wants to get into a fair fight, I'll let him get to it. But if, say, three kids want to jump him they better watch out," she responded while glaring at her head of house.

"You would let your own brother get beaten up in a fight?" the potion's master scoffed disbelievingly.

"Yup. He was being a jerk and I told him so. He thought he would _use _me to bully another kid and I told him if he ever did that again, I was going to thrash him to within an inch of his life." She lowered her voice, "Not that I would. But he got the idea."

"While the morals and ethics of that situation are quite intriguing, that really does not pertain to the matter at hand, Miss Potter. This is a very grave matter. You have exhibited abilities that are, at best, questionable." Dumbledore continued to stroke his beard. "The only way that I have ever heard of anyone increasing their strength, speed and toughness has been through very dark rituals indeed."

"Or she could just be some _thing_ that happens to look like a little girl, of course." Snape smirked at the girl as he could see the thought impact on her consciousness. Professor McGonnagal glared at him for that.

"So I'm not a real girl?" she asked in a low, worried tone.

"Not at all, Miss Potter. It is our actions and decisions that form what we are!" Professor Dumbledore explained. "We are just worried about the decisions and actions in the past. What was decided and acted upon that affects all of us, most of all you."

"I guess so, sir." Michelle didn't look happy, but she couldn't really fault them.

It was only ten minutes later that Harry was let into the hospital wing. "Hey!" he called out, seeing her laying on the bed. "You had everyone worried. They've been giving me the third degree."

"Trying to figure out who or what I am?" She winced at his nod.

"Yeah, I guess when Hagrid showed up to rescue after You-Know-Who killed our parents... they found you with me."

Michelle arched an eyebrow at that. "So?"

"No one knew you were there. As far as everyone was aware, I was an only child," Harry said slowly.

"What?" Michelle clutched her head. "Then who am I?" This was turning into a nightmare.

"Well, they thought my... _our_ parents had hidden you for protection, because they thought you were a squib. But you aren't. You are magical... so they were just wrong. They don't know anything."

"So I'm not your sister?" she asked.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. It's always been you protecting me and I'm not going to let them take you away," Harry promised as he put his arm on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Harry. I think I'd like some time alone now."

* * *

Harry left the hospital wing, taking in the sunny morning as he headed to the Great Hall. He slipped in to sit at the end of the Slytherin table nearest the professors own table.

"Harry!" Hermione called out, heading over. Looking surprised at seeing him, Susan followed her over.

"Hello Harry!" Susan said, giving him a small wave.

"Oh. Hi, Susan! Hermione! What's up?" Harry asked.

Draco was making gagging noises just down the table. "Ugh. The stench of mudbloods. Why don't you go back to your own table?"

"And yet purebloods have Crabbe and Goyle? At least Hermione has some brains!" Harry snarked back. "Ignore the bigot, he's just full of hot air."

"So, Harry? Did you sister really beat up a troll?" Susan asked excitedly.

"Ah, that's... pretty accurate," Harry replied.

Malfoy and his cronies listened in shock. Susan was too preoccupied though. "Really? What spells did she use?"

"I really didn't see," Harry replied evasively. "I was too busy trying to get Hermione out of there. The troll had broken her leg and she was in a lot of pain."

"How heroic! Makes me think you should have been sorted into Gryffindor," Draco snarked out.

"Actually, the hat mentioned I was good enough for both houses," the Boy-That-Lived replied. "But I wanted to prove myself, so it put me in Slytherin."

"Really? The Sorting Hat mentioned that I was pretty close for Hufflepuff or Gryffindor too!" Susan blurted out.

"Me too! Though it was Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," Hermione said, looking between the two.

"Pfah. The Sorting Hat didn't have any troubles with me!" Draco cat-called out.

Harry snickered then winked at Hermione and Susan. "Guess that means you only have cunning, ambitious qualities. At least with Susan I know she's probably pretty loyal and with Hermione, well she's smart!" His comment had some of the other Slytherins and nearby Ravenclaws that were listening laugh. "Having more good qualities is better, isn't it? I'd rather have a loyal, brave person at my back than just who is one or the other, eh?"

Draco blinked, thinking that over. "Whatever." He stood up and walked off, his cronies following closely.

"Harry, you have to show me how you did that! It couldn't be apparation, as you can't apparate on Hogwarts!" Hermione asked intently. "That's powerful magic to know in your first year!"

Susan looked confused, raising her eyebrow in question.

"Well, the way I normally teleport around didn't work," Harry said softly. "It was like a wall was blocking it. I'm not even that good at it really, but Michelle had me practicing my magic before I even knew I was a wizard. So I accidentally figured out a harder way to teleport, by imagining everything around me shifting... flatly? Instead of squeezing from point to point."

Susan blinked as he mouth dropped open. "I- I don't think we should be talking here. Perhaps after class?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, then nodded. "That's a good idea."

* * *

Harry was just leaving his last class for the day, which had been transfiguration, when Professor Dumbledore called out in the hallway outside. "Ah, Mr. Potter. If I could have a word please?"

"Sure, Professor." Harry followed him to a stone gargoyle that the headmaster opened with a 'blood suckers' password. They took the stairs up where he found a couple of wizards and his sister Michelle. She was heavily tied up again and looking cranky. "Does she really have to be tied up?"

"We felt it was necessary at this time," Dumbledore explained. "These Aurors are here for your protection during the testing."

"And I'm being a good girl and not attempting to break free," Michelle noted, though Harry could hear how brittle she really was.

"This is Shacklebolt and I'm Auror Tanksley," the beefer, Caucasian man introduced them. The other Auror was very dark-skinned, almost a mahogany.

"So what are we doing?" Harry asked.

"We are going to have her hold an item and recite her lineage starting with her birth name. The Scepter of Alexander is a powerful item, you can not lie and it will draw out the information. If you attempt to resist, it will either force you to continue or... kill you." Dumbledore looked very grim. "It is considered at least potentially dark, but it is the only item that could resolve this dangerous situation."

Michelle looked afraid, but nodded her head slowly. "I'll do it. I want to know." She was released from her bonds. Harry quickly hugged her and then she took up the scepter from its wooden case. It's gold etchings lighting up the room, with emeralds studding the end.

She licked her lips and then started. "I am Michelle Potter." She waited worriedly. Wasn't the magic supposed to force her to say her father's name? "Why isn't it continuing?" she asked after a minute, looking around frantically.

Dumbledore's serious expression as he looked across the room to the window. "It should have. It would take very powerful magic to confuse the scepter."

"And it was never out of my sight," Shacklebolt said with a hard line to his mouth.

Harry took the scepter from her. Holding it tightly, he started to use it before anyone could stop him. "I am Harry Potter, son of James Potter, son of Kellium Potter, son of George Potter and son of Albertus Potter."

Dumbledore sighed. "The scepter seems to work correctly. It is yet another conundrum of the mystery known as Michelle Potter."

"So I'm no one? Just a name with no family?" Michelle finally asked.

"Or powerful, protective magics are blocking us from accessing that information. We shall have to look into it more closely." Dumbledore looked over at the two Aurors.

"Professor? When will Michelle be allowed back to classes?" Harry asked worriedly. "I miss my sister."

"I do not foresee any problems with her returning to her classes for now. I do apologize, Miss Potter, but I have to take the safety of the school very seriously."

She smiled. "That actually makes me feel better, Professor." She followed Harry down the steps, he head held low as she gazed at the ground dully.

"I don't care what a stupid hunk of jewelry says, you're my sister," Harry said suddenly as he threw himself into a tight hug. "I won't ever let you go!"

Michelle started sobbing as she held him back. "Thanks, Harry."

* * *

Things settled down for the last little bit before the holidays. Harry and Michelle gleefully signed up to stay over at Hogwarts.

"This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Michelle exclaimed just after their dorm mates had left. "No Draco and no Dursleys!"

All of the other Slytherins thought the two Potters were quite mental, but they genuinely seemed happy, so they let them be. Other than a few random older students, the only other students of note that were staying over were the Weasley bunch. Percy, the really stuffy older brother; Fred and George, the twins from hell; and Ron Weasley, who the Potters didn't like too well because of his treatment of Hermione.

(Hermione was one of their few inter-house friends. In truth, she and Susan were closer friends than anyone within Slytherin, too.)

So they were going down to breakfast the day after the Hogwarts express had left when they ran afoul of the two twins. They had turned the corner as they were exiting the dungeons early when Harry stepped on a cloth that was an almost perfect match to the floor... with explosive results.

They sat there for a few moments, plastered in dung when Professor Snape happened by. "Potter! What do you think you are doing?" he snapped out.

"Falling victim to a prank, sir!" Harry replied as he tried not to breathe the foul gunk that was coating them.

"How clever of you to fall for their trick," their head of house sneered. With a flick of his wand, he almost blasted the gunk off of them. With that, he strode on by them as if they were beneath their notice.

"So, any idea who did this?" Michelle asked.

"I'd guess that it's probably Fred and George," Harry replied. He'd heard a couple of the older Slytherins talking about being pranked by the red-headed twins.

His sister gave him a calculating look. "So, you know what this means, right?"

Harry just nodded as they walked to breakfast. They pretended to ignore the disappointed expression of Fred and George and finished their breakfast early.

As soon as they exited the great hall, they headed to the library to start looking up potions. They figured the only way they could even possibly get them was a variation of the stinkbomb trick they'd used on Dudley. They'd actually made some progress, but were chased out by Madam Pomfrey fairly late in the day.

They romped in the snow late in the afternoon and all of the students left had gotten dragged into a snowball fight, even prickly Percy. The four Gryffindors had thought the two Slytherins would be easily outdone by them, being outnumbered heavily, but Michelle sent enough snowballs for a small army and Harry managed to float a small snowdrift over them from behind.

Fred had just a moment to tug on George's sleeve and point up before the twins could yell out a warning. The four brothers chased Harry and Michelle all the way into the main entrance.

They ran back to the dungeons, almost colliding with Professor Snape. "Oh, sorry sir!" Michelle exclaimed.

Harry suddenly had a calculating look. "Excuse me sir, is there any way to have access to the potions classroom? We need to brew a potion."

"And what potion would you be needing to brew?" the professor said, his voice dripping with malice.

"We were thinking a dragon repellent salve," Michelle said.

"Are you worried about dragons, Miss Potter?" the dark haired man retorted with a glare.

"Er, not really. It's more-" Michelle stopped, looking over helplessly at Harry.

"We understand that it has some interesting properties. I guess it is very sticky and smelly," Harry said casually.

Snape gave them a curious look. "And why should I let you two dunderheads try your hands at that complex of a potion?"

They Potter twins shared a quick glance. "Just some payback on a pair of Gryffindorks, sir!" they said in unison.

"As a teacher, I should absolutely forbid this. But as head of Slytherin, I can only applaud your cunning and ambition. The potion's classroom will be unlocked tonight. Make sure to clean up thoroughly." He turned and vanished down the hall in a swirl of his robes.

* * *

Harry and Michelle were sitting down to breakfast on Christmas Day when all four Weasleys entered the great hall. Everyone stared at them in astonishment, as this amazing odor was following them.

Professor McGonnagal just sniffed. "Boys!? Exactly what have you gotten yourself into?"

"Sorry, Professor! We-" George started with.

Fred finished, "-seem to have fallen for a prank."

Ron and Percey were glaring at the two Potters, who did their best to look innocent.

"You do know-" Fred said, glaring at them.

"-that this means war!" George finished.

That started a row between their older brother and the two, even as Dumbledore handed out party gifts. Including very silly hats that everyone wore. In the shadows, no one noticed Professor Quirrell giving the two boys a calculating looking.

* * *

The first realization of a problem to Harry was when he started floating upwards just outside the main entrance to Hogwarts. He heard the sound of laughter from the twins as Fred was levitating him upwards, higher and higher.

"Hey!" Harry yelled out. He tried to compose himself, but he really was starting to get quite high. "Put me down!"

"That's high enough!" George cat-called with a grin. The grin faltered when he realized that his twin was not stopping. "Fred?" He looked over at his twin who was still laughing, his eyes a bit unfocused. He pulled his own wand, trying to figure out something to do to stop this. "Fred, this isn't funny any more!"

Michelle snapped a look over at Fred, seeing his abnormal expression. She crouched down, then suddenly leaped up over thirty feet. With a tap, she crouched on the ledge on the outer wall and leaped again to the top of a tower. "Reach for me, Harry!" she screamed out as she held out her hand while clutching hard to the stone battlement.

Harry managed to catch her hand, holding on for dear life. "Don't you dare let go!" he called out in a panic.

"Blimey? How'd she do that?" He shook his head as if to clear it from distractions. "Fred, I think this has gone on far enough."

"Looks quite funny, bunny! Higher! Higher!" Fred said as he held his wand-hand unsteadily, trying to push Harry up with little jerks.

"Sorry, Fred. But you are being a right menace right now." George pulled back his fist and then plowed it right into Fred's jaw.

With the end of the spell, Harry started falling down as Michelle's finger's slipped from the edge. She pulled her brother close then roughly threw him towards the top of the wall where he landed with a woosh of air escaping his lungs. Unfortunately, physics seemed to still be in effect, so Michelle went the opposite direction with equal force.

THUNK. "Ow." She decided that laying on the ground was perfectly fine. For at least a moment.

"Michelle! Are you all right?" George asked worriedly as he skidded on his knees over to her.

"I think I'll be fine. Can you get Harry down. He's not too good at self levitation yet." With a groan of pain, she started to sit up.

George looked up at the top of the wall to see Harry looking down. "I'm going to levitate you down now, Harry." With a swish and a flick, the Boy Who Lived floated down carefully.

"Michelle?" Harry asked with concern.

"Nothing hurt really except for my pride." She was carefully stretching herself.

"Your magic must have protected you!" the conscious Weasley twin said.

"Er, something like that," Michelle replied. "I think we need to get Fred to Professor Dumbledore though. He wasn't acting normal. Even for him!"

* * *

Harry and Michelle went for several weeks before George let them know that the headmaster was very troubled but investigating. By that time, all of the students had returned and school was back in session.

"Investigating. What is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked in obvious anger.

"He's probably trying to figure out which teacher was trying to kill you." Michelle just shrugged.

"I don't see how you can be taking this so calmly. I mean, someone is trying to kill Harry!" Hermione looked outraged. To her left at the library table, Tracey just rolled her eyes.

"While Hermione is going a little overboard, figuring this sort of thing out isn't that easy. It's not like your magic leaves a trace that can only be attributed to the caster." Susan was busily scribbling her notes for transfiguration down. She looked up as the groundskeeper Hagrid was trying to unobtrusively check out a library book down the row.

"So people could see you cast a spell and they wouldn't be able to arrest you?" Hermione seemed horrified at the thought.

"If they didn't catch you immediately... probably not. It's easy to mask the spells on your wand and it's not too hard to look like someone else. Potions, spells or beffudlements could easily make you accuse the Minister of Magic himself of casting a spell. Auntie complains about it all the time." Susan just shrugged helplessly.

"I guess I was hoping for a more logical and reasoned way to deal with it," Hermione muttered.

Tracey finally spoke up. "That's the problem, Hermione. Magic is not always logical. Some of the greatest advancements in magic were on accident and going against any rules that people thought they understood."

"Really? That seems so counter-intuitive," she complained.

"Actually, you have to depend on your intuition, rather than your logic, Hermione," Susan said with a smile.

Michelle and Harry shared a quick glance in surprise. "Yet she's got top grades in all her classes. Even Professor Snape's." Michelle looked flummoxed by that.

"Book learning is only part of magic." Tracey just shrugged.

That seemed to deflate Hermione. "I'm not so good at the non-book learning parts," she admitted ruefully.

* * *

Harry knocked on Hagrid's door after they had trudged through the snow to visit him. While Hagrid seemed a bit cautious about them, he genuinely seemed happy to see the two Potters. The young boy was about to knock again when Hagrid opened the door and almost pushed them inside.

He seemed very distracted, looking over at his fireplace. Michelle craned her neck to see what was there, but only saw an egg. A very large egg, but then again, Hagrid was a very large man. "What's that?" she asked.

"Ah, not'in really. Just sum'tin I was giv'n." The very large man seemed nervous now.

"Oh, really? It looks like an egg," Harry said as he caught sight of it.

"Eh, it's a dragon's egg." Hagrid pulled out a book and flipped through it. "I think it's a Norwegian Ridgeback. Them's rare, you know."

"We actually didn't. A real dragon's egg? How neat!" the young girl gushed. "Do they teach about that at Hogwarts too?"

"Er, not really. 'at's pretty advanced Care of Creatures. But wouldn't 'at be sum'tin to see?" His beetle-like eyes were alive with delight.

That was how the grounds-keeper introduced them to the (unknown to them) illegal care for dragon's class. So, between classes and studying, they learned quite a bit about dragons. Discovering that dragons did indeed breath fire from a very young age, Harry and Michelle researched a fire-proofing charm and spent a week fire-proofing Hagrid's hut.

It seemed like no time at all before the egg hatched and they were feeding the dragnet whiskey and blood. It soon boiled down to Hagrid and Michelle having to handle the baby dragon that was quickly named 'Norbert.' They were the only two that would not get scratched nor burned.

Though that did confuse Hagrid a bit, as Michelle did not _look_ like she should be that tough. Norbert appreciated her toughness, gnawing on her finger tip contentedly.

The problem was that Hagrid was starting to not do his job as he should, as a baby dragon was quite a bundle to deal with. It was Harry, after having nearly been bitten, finally got angry. After quite a row and Harry threatening to not come again with Michelle, Hagrid finally admitted that he really had bitten off more than he could chew.

"But I just don't dare leave him in the wilderness. He's too young. He'd die!" the big man blubbered.

"Well, what do people normally do with dragons?" Michelled snapped out.

"Dragons are raised on Dragon Reservations, of course. Everyone knows that." He looked between both of them as they obviously did not know that. "Well, ever since it was made illegal to sell dragons."

"Illegal?" Harry asked worriedly. "Exactly how did you get a dragon's egg, Hagrid?"

"I won him in a game of cards, I did. Met up with this fellow that was ever so interested in critters. He even was ever so interested in Fluffy. And he just happened to have a dragon egg."

"But Hagrid... you said it was illegal to own it. Didn't you?" Michelle asked.

"Well, yes. Technically. Can't have someone raising bunches of dragons near Muggles, right? That's the reason behind the law on the ban on raising dragons, after all."

The two children digested that pregnant thought for a long while. Finally, Harry spoke up. "Hagrid, why are you raising a dragon if it is illegal?"

"Er, well, I'm not going to be raising more than the one, of course. And only until he's old enough to get on by himself." Hagrid smiled weakly.

"And you just _happened_ to forget to mention that you while dragging Harry and I into this? And that it was illegal?" Michelle screeched out.

"Blimey! You didn't know?" the big man asked.

"Hagrid, Harry and I were raised by Muggles that _hated_ and _despised_ magic!" she shouted out, disturbing Norbert. "What would happen if we were found out?" She could just imagine a large fine, leaving them penniless to be able to come back to Hogwarts.

"Er, I think its several years in Azkaban for dragon raising." The grounds keeper looked very uncomfortable now.

"Azkaban? What's that?" the boy asked.

"Well, it's wizarding prison. Right nasty place. The Dementors suck all of the happiness of ya'."

"Hagrid, I think Michelle and I need to leave. I'm not sure we will be back." Harry stood up and dragged his sister out. The door slammed behind them.

Hagrid looked stricken, ignoring Norbert as he tried to chew on his hand.

* * *

They never did find out what had happened to Norbert, but Hagrid appeared more regularly and did his job more diligently. Harry and Michelle were hanging out more with Tracey and Blaise up in the library with a few of their inter-house friends like Hermione and Susan.

Harry and Hermione had a friendly rivalry going on to see who could learn more. The brightest girl in Gryffindor had found a match in the awakening mind of the smartest Slytherin. Michelle would admit that she was not too shabby at school, but she could not keep up with either of them.

Blaise, Tracey and Susan were in the same boat. They were not stupid by any means, but hearing those two argue over facts in books was just tiring to hear, much less get in the middle of. Poor Blaise had to either study on his own, listen to Michelle and Susan talk about the latest gossip from Witch Teen Weekly or try to get involved in between Harry and Hermione.

Hagrid found them in the library just three weeks after their fight. "Um, Harry? Michelle? I just came to apologize. I shouldn't have gotten you involved. You could'a gotten in real trouble and you didn't even know."

"Thank you, Hagrid." He suddenly smiled. "Maybe we'll do tea again sometime."

"I'd like that." The big man moved off, still smiling hesitantly.

* * *

Other than the deteriorating relationship with Draco and his thugs, the rest of the year up until the year end tests had been mostly quiet. They had not _quite_ gotten into any more fist fights, but it was obvious that the Slytherin First Years were now divided into three parts. Harry's side, Draco's side and those that didn't want to be involved. Tracey and Blaise had gravitated towards Harry and Michelle because they were willing to stand up against Draco and Pansy.

Millicent was thoroughly cowed by Michelle's ease at destroying the boy dorm's door while ignoring her. She had drifted into the center with Theodore.

So the tense situation in the house stayed merely tense and had not fallen into all out war.

But final exams were done for the end of the year and tomorrow was the last Quidditch game of the season (Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, but that was really only to determine who would be in second place for the Quidditch Cup. The Slytherin's were far ahead of everyone else at this point.)

Michelle was trotting along to Professor McGonnagal's office and stopped in front of it to knock. When she heard the professor ask her to enter, she did. "Hello, Professor! You wanted to speak to me about my homework for the summer?" she asked curiously.

The strict, older professor looked puzzled. "No, I hadn't. You and your brother's work has been quite good. As long as you do your studies over the holiday, I don't see any problems. Why did you think that I wanted to talk to you?"

"Well, I have a note," the girl said. She patted her pockets, finding the paper. "See, it says that you wanted to speak to me."

"That is definitely my writing, dear. But I've only written four notes for students that need extra assistance on their holiday homework." McGonnagal pulled out her wand and tapped Michelle's name on the paper while muttering a magical phrase. The letters rearranged themselves, showing the name of Vincent Crabbe.

"But why would someone send me here... alone... HARRY!" Michelle screamed out, dashing for the door. She passed by a couple of curious Hufflepuffs. She yelled out, "Look out below!" as she leaped from the fourth floor down to the ground floor with a loud thud, shocking several older Gryffindors.

She dashed down to the dungeon and breathlessly spat the password out and entered the Slytherin common room. Tracey looked up from a book she was reading as Michelle looked around frantically.

"What's up?" the other girl asked.

"Where's Harry?" Michelle looked frantic.

"Probably outside like most of the boys." Tracey just shrugged at that.

"Someone slipped me a note to get me away from Harry, I'm sure." Michelle dashed over to the boy's dorms again, finding it bare and empty.

"I'm sorry. I haven't seen him at all. Do you want some help finding him?" Tracey asked.

Michelled nodded thankfully as the two headed out. They were just out of the dungeons when they saw a flash of red hair. "Fred?" she asked curiously.

"Um, hello!" Fred said glibly.

"What are you doing next to-" Michelle looked at the door to the potion's class. "Oh, right. Well, I wish you luck on your prank. Have you seen Harry? I think he's been taken."

Fred looked over his shoulder. "George! Michelle's lost Harry!"

"Fred! You are ruining our prank!" came the voice off in the distance.

"I don't think they care that we are trying to prank Snape." Fred rolled his eyes.

"Oh." There was a pause. "That's strange, Harry's with Professor Quirrel and a Tom Riddle." The other red-head wandered over with a paper in his hand, studying it intently. "You know, I don't know how to get to that section of the castle. I'm not seeing any secret doors to it and no regular ones either."

Michelle snatched the parchment from him, scanning the mostly empty map. The ink squiggled as she traced the path back to a dead end, showing a room off the 3rd floor hallway with an occupant named... Fluffy. The little trap door closed in the picture. "Its through the forbidden room on the 3rd floor!" She took off running, the trio of friends chasing after her.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. Didn't Professor Dumbledore warn us off that hallways on pain of death?" George asked.

Fred just gave him a look as if he was stupid. "Like that's stopped us from going into the Forbidden Forest. And there are loads of dangerous monsters there too!"

"I thought that was just something made up by the upper years?" Tracey asked.

"Nah, the monsters are real. You just have to know-" Fred started and George finished with, "-to avoid things like the Acromantulas."

Michelle opened the door, only to stop at the sight of the giant, three-headed dog snoring next to the open trapdoor. A harp was playing a melody all by itself. With a shrug, she hopped down the hole without a pause.

Fred, George and Tracey froze as the last notes drifted off. George held up a finger to his lips as they snuck up to the hole in the floor quietly. They quietly levitated the girl down and then themselves down into the mass of vines.

"Careful, the vines try to strangle you!" Michelle warned.

"Quick, some fire or light!" Tracey yelled out. She was frantically thinking of a good spell.

Both twins conjured up some flames that forced the vines back as Michelle led them into the next room and a locked door.

"Alohorama!" Fred cried out... to no avail. "Drat."

"Those are keys-" George started to say when he was interrupted.

CRACK. Michelled tossed the door out of the way with a thudding clatter.

"-up there. My, you been eating your Wheatlies?"

"Something like that," she replied even as Tracey toed the broken door curiously.

Tracey gave George an odd look. "Oh, it's Wheaties, by the way. Don't you get out into the Muggle world very often?"

"Er, not really. Just into town sometimes for groceries. I take it I sounded pretty stupid there?"

Fred jumped into the conversation with, "Only a little more than normal, brother."

Tracey just rolled her blue eyes at them both.

"We might have a problem," Michelle said, looking over the next room of eight foot tall stone chess pieces. "Unless any of you happen to be greats wits at playing Wizarding Chess?" A very sturdy looking Bishop was standing in her way, tapping its stone weapon in its stone hand with a clunk.

Fred and George sighed. "Or, you can change the rules of the game. I bet you can't move around the chess set-" George started with.

"-but I bet that who ever made this forgot that it's quite easy to levitate over it," his brother continued.

Tracey and Michelle shared a quick, bemused glance. "Oh, right."

Fred sent George over the head and weapon's reach of all the chess pieces with a crack. Working together, they quickly sent Michelle and Tracey over as the chess pieces seemed to become angrier and angrier.

"Run for it, George! We'll handle it from here!" Fred yelled out as the three of them ducked into the next room and slammed the door closed.

"What is that smell?" Tracey asked as a most odious oder permeted the room.

"Troll." Michelle was scanning the room, looking for the large creature. He was there, but quite unconscious.

"Well, I'm glad we didn't have to fight it." Fred had a wrinkled brow as he considered the knocked out brute.

"Yeah, they hurt." The girl ignored Fred's and Tracey's incredulous stares. "Through there, you think?" She was pointing at an arch. The three of them headed into another, smaller room. Michelle wrinkled her nose at the smell of burnt potions that she caught a whiff of.

"-let me go-" Harry's voice said, drifting through the other arch.

Instantly, Michelle charged across the room even as magical flames errupted both in front and behind them. She ignored the purple flames, diving through with a grimace of pain.

"Michelle!" Harry cried out happily from where he was sitting tied up on some steps right in front of her.

She reached over and snapped the ropes. Quirrel gave her a very odd look. "You do-do- realize th-that you are on fire?" he stuttered.

Michelle finished patting herself off, stopping the small blaze. It appears she had gone through the fire so fast, that she'd barely been burnt. "No, but thanks. So you're the one that's been trying to kill Harry, I see." She looked around, trying to spot the Tom Riddle that the map had mentioned. "Where's your friend?"

Both Harry and Quirrel looked at her oddly. "There's no one here but us," Harry noted as he flexed his fingers to get rid of his stiffness.

"You know the Master is here? How?" Quirrel demanded, narrowing his eyes as his stuttering disappeared.

"Your master?" the two Potter's echoed to each other.

"Kill the girl. It's the boy I want, so that I can discover how he survived my killing curse," a voice said from the direction of Quirrel.

Harry nearly turned as white as a sheet of paper, even as Michelle suddenly bent her knees slightly. The young boy yelled out, "Voldemort?"

"_Avarda Kadavra!_" shouted Quirrel, sending a beam of bright, green light at the girl... that she ducked by leaping away. "My, she's rather quick." He turned to keep following her, ignoring Harry near the entrance.

That was when Fred peeked around the corner, whistling silently. He reached into his pocket and pulled out different tricks from Zonko's joke store.

Quirrel had his wand pointed at Michelle again when a stink pellet splashed off of his cheek to nauseating effect. He started gagging just as a whirling firework zipped past his head. "Who dares?" the professor shouted as he turned back to the entrance.

"Take some cover, Harry!" Fred shouted as he ducked behind some rubble.

That was when a grinding sound filled the room. Quirrel turned his watering eyes towards the odd (for wizards) sight of a young girl hefting a large section of a stone pillar and then threw it at him with punishing force. The professor was plastered by the boulder as it continued on through the mirror, shattering it.

"Noooooo!" screamed Voldemort, still unseen by the children but obviously from near Quirrel.

The professor started chuckling painfully where he was laying on the ground, under the pillar. "I'm finally free." He started coughing up blood.

That was when a shadowy presence came out of his turban, a wraith made of smoke and malice. "Harry Potter!" he roared as it funneled towards the totally shocked boy.

"Harry!" Michelle screamed.

Harry was in the middle of a storm of evil smoke, screaming even as Voldemort started roaring in pain. Flickers of light danced across his body as some magic strove to fight off the possession of the discorporated wizard. With a boom of thunder, Voldemort fled through the wall.

The young boy blinked, then collapsed to his knees as Fred and Michelle caught him. But unconsciousness had already claimed him.

* * *

Harry was barely out of the hospital wing in time for the end of the year feast. It looked like Gryffindor was barely in the lead, so the banners were red in gold in anticipation of the house award already won.

That was when Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome everyone to the leaving feast!" The crowd of children quieted in anticipation. "Before we begin, I have some last minute points to give out. For thinking around the problem, not through it I award George Weasley ten points for playing to his own strengths. For the greatest practical joke in the face of danger that saved a life, I award Fred Weasley twenty points."

That put Gryffindor well in the lead, with the nearest (Slytherin) fifty-five points behind them. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were quite far behind both of them. "For smarts, bravery and courage to stick with her friends even in dire straights, I award Tracey Davis ten points. For cunning, loyality and bravery while never giving up, I award Harry Potter twenty-five." This suddenly had all the Gryffindors worried, as they were only twenty points ahead. "And for unswerving dedication and unflinching bravery for her brother, I award Michelle Potter twenty-five points. I think that means a small change in decorations."

With a wave of his wand, the red and gold banners turned to green and silver. The Slytherin table exploded into cheers as they started patting the three first years on the back.

Fred and George stood up and walked over the to table, causing a quiet hush to descend. Back at the Gryffindor table Ron, Hermione and Susan all stared at them worriedly.

Fred stuck out his hand to Harry. "Good show, mate!" His brother held out his hand to Tracey.

"Next year?" Harry said, shaking on it even as Tracey followed his example.

"You bet!" the twins crowed with a smile.

The rest of the Slytherins were all giving them strange looks. Draco looked quite flummoxed at the good sportsmenship. That was when Michelle grabbed both red-heads in a hug.

"Oh, you guys!" she said, her voice filled with good cheer.

* * *

It was a whirlwind until the end of the year. Harry and Michelle promised to write all their friends over the summer. The trip back on the Hogwarts Express was quite lively, as both sets of twins tried to prank each other to miserable effect. They all left the train while laughing, dragging their trunks through the magically hidden exit.

Vernon, Petunia and Dudley all stared in suspicion at the two laughing teens. They had never seen the two quite so happy.

"What's got you two so cheery?" Vernon asked, his mustache bristling at the mere thought.

"We were just enjoying the trip with all of our friends," Harry said happily.

The Dursley's just stared at the twins that were normally stayed away from by all of the children. But they did not realize that without Dudley's intervention, that the two had managed to gain several new friends.

The trip back to Privet drive was starting to turn tense as the Petunia and Vernon tried to wrap their minds around a happy Harry and Michelle. Dudley was just too stunned and was wondering what his parents would do to stop the 'freaks' happiness.

Michelle carried their trunks up to their room. The first week they spent cleaning their room up and then homework. Dudley was quite terrified of Harry now that he could (supposedly) do magic, so had taken to visiting friends during the day.

After one of Harry and Michelle's calls on the phone to Hermione, they were sitting on the floor in their room while going over their Transfiguration holiday work.

"How are we supposed to test this for the report?" Harry complained.

"I don't know. That does seem a bit obnoxious that we can't even practice spell casting as part of our home work. About the only 'magic' we can do is potions and herbology." Michelle suddenly giggled. "Could you imagine Aunt Petunia's face if we asked to plant some Wizarding stock in the garden?"

That was when Aunt Petnuia knocked on the door. She opened it to see the twins studiously doing their homework. "Harry, you have a package here from a Tracey Davis," she said with a sniff of disapproval.

Harry actually smiled as he took the heavy package from her. "Thanks, Aunt Petunia!"

After their aunt had left, Michelle arched her eyebrow in question at him. "What, Mr. Potter, is that?"

"It's something Tracey and Hermione had been working on for me. It's a ritual about blood adoption," he replied seriously.

"You want to 'blood adopt' me?" she asked nervously.

"Yes. That way no one can ever say you aren't my sister." Harry opened the package, finding a ritual knife that Tracey said she wanted back, candles and some very strict instructions.

One hour later, and carefully cut palms the ritual was complete.

Michelle cried tears of happiness and promise Harry that they would always be together.


End file.
